


Kings and Minstrels

by Sylanna



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Eventual Romance, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Modern Setting, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21900925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylanna/pseuds/Sylanna
Summary: Modern Age Rock Band AUWhen Glorfindel, the lead singer of the popular rock band 'Kings and Minstrels' invites his old friend Elrond (who is incidently the head of their label) to one of their concerts, Lindir is worried. Unrightfully so, he soon recognizes. He would like to spend some time with Elrond, but their time is limited, because the band still has to finish their tour.Will they meet again?
Relationships: Elrond Peredhel/Lindir, Erestor/Glorfindel (Tolkien), Thorin Oakenshield/Thranduil
Kudos: 15





	1. First meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Band AU - The band consists of:  
> Vocals and Guitar: Glorfindel  
> Bass Guitar: Thranduil  
> Drummer and background vocals: Thorin  
> Keyboard, Harp and background vocals: Lindir  
> Manager: Erestor  
> Label: Rivendell (headed by Elrond of Imladris)  
> Stagehands: Rumil and Orophin
> 
> Main pairing is Elrondir, the others are just mentioned
> 
> As always, I own nothing.

“I invited an old friend of mine to the concert tonight”, announces Glorfindel shortly before they leave the bus.

“Who's it this time?”, asks Thorin, already sounding annoyed. “Hopefully not the one from last time!”

“Nope”, says Glorfindel happily. “It's Elrond of Imladris.”

“You're friends with the head of our label?”, asks Lindir. “I don't think inviting him was wise. What if he does not like us?”

“What makes you think he would not like our music? It was his decision to market our music”, arguments Thranduil.

“His label's decision.”

Thranduil grins. “So, his decision. He owns it.”

Lindir still feels uneasy. The strange feeling doesn't leave him, even when the stage is ready and they are about to start.

Their set is by now a routine. They have been on tour for about two weeks now and they will travel on for the same amount of time. There's hardly any rest in between the single concerts. Touring is always very stressful for Lindir, but he still likes the adoration of their fans. Glorfindel finds him in the backstage area shortly before they are supposed to go on stage.

“Are you still worrying?”

Lindir shakes his head. “Thranduil was right, well probably”, is all he says.

\- - -

When Glorfindel had asked Elrond to come to the concert of the Kings and Minstrels, Elrond had easily agreed. He had kept a close eye on the band since their founding. Elrond had enjoyed their music from the beginning and had advocated for them to become part of his label. He had always wanted to meet all the members of the band, but his full schedule had prevented it. So far, he knew Glorfindel and Thranduil from their days at university, but the other two members he hadn't met so far.

His friend had given him a ticket for the first row on the balcony. On the ground floor, the standing audience was waiting for the beginning, cheering loudly. Elrond was happy for his place in the VIP area. He was just too old to party with the people on the floor.

And then the lights went out, and for a moment the whole hall was dark. All the mumbling ended and silence spread. When the tension began to rise, a single spot lit up the stage, with a single ellon sat there, strumming a melody on his artfully decorated harp. Elrond knew this to be Lindir. What he had not known was Lindir's talent with a harp. So far, while listening to the tracks at home, Elrond had assumed the harp had been an electronic addition to the music. He would have never guessed, that one member of the band knew how to play this complicated instrument.

Whilst Lindir was playing the beginning of one of their tracks, the other members of the band entered the stage, accompanied by the cheering of the crowd.  Then the concert started in earnest, with the rock/metal music the band was known for.

T he concert ended with Elrond's favourite song, that ended in a small melody played by the harpist. Now that he knew it was Lindir, he loved the music even more.

When the lights came on, the crowd began to clear the concert hall. Some hardcore fans remained though, in hopes of meeting their idols or getting some autographs. Elrond noticed that not only young females were waiting, but also quite a few guys with starry eyes.  The ellon smiled. It was well know that Glorfindel did not favour any gender and had taken lovers of almost all genders before. A less known fact was Glorfindel's current love life. The lead singer was dating a ellon called Erestor, the band's manager.

They had met because their old manager had married and started a family and so Elrond had sent Erestor as replacement.  He still could remember the first time  they had met in his office.

W hen the security started to clear out the last fans, Erestor came out to collect Elrond. “You can come backstage now, my friend”, the manager said. “The vultures are gone now.”

Elrond just nodded. He had no need for a publicity scandal again, even if as head of Rivendell he would have a legitimate reason to visit the band after a concert. The past had proven the media to be very unforgiving.

Erestor led Elrond to a small but well guarded door on the side of the stage into the backstage area.  There, in the well lit room,  most of  the musicians were already waiting.

“I present to you Elrond of Imladris, Head of Rivendell”, announced Erestor with a smile. The formality was delivered with good humor.

“ Elrond!”, Glorfindel exclaimed. “There you are!”

“Where should I have gone?”, asked Elrond confused.

His old  friend smiled. “Sometimes the security is a bit overprotective. Once I had to collect one of my acquaintances from the street. The following media coverage was unpleasant to say the least.”

“The joys of being popular”, sneered Thranduil. “Mae govannen.”

“Mae govannen mellon nin.” As always, Elrond and Thranduil exchanged their greetings.

“And this is Lindir, our keyboarder”, Glorfindel said with a nod to the ellon that had hovered in the background.

“It is good to finally meet you, Sir”, said Lindir.

Elrond shook his head. “Please drop the formalities, we are among friends here. I am Elrond.”


	2. Connection

Lindir was surprised how calm Elrond held himself. He had expected someone more energetic, like Glorfindel or Thranduil, but the older ellon was mostly silent and listened to the others bickering.

After some time, Thorin joined them. “So you are Elrond”, the dwarf said in his usual boisterous voice.

“And you must be Thorin”, Elrond said unimpressed. Then Thorin just embraced the old ellon.

Lindir hid his chuckle well. Not everyone was used to the dwarfish way of greeting. Elrond took it surprisingly well. Thranduil however growled and sighed: “Please, Thorin.”

“I don't mind”, said Elrond smiling, mischief glimmering in his eyes. He was promptly rewarded by a sour expression on the other ellon's face. Apparently, the Head of Rivendell had also noticed Thranduil's infatuation with the dwarf and enjoyed teasing him.

In Lindir's optinion, Thranduil and Thorin would make an awesome powercouple. If they would get to the confession part one day.

“For how long have you been playing the harp?”, Elrond asked him suddenly.

Lindir blushed. “For longer than I have been playing the keyboard actually. I started as a child.”

“Then what drove you to learn the keyboard as well?”

“The harp is a traditional elvish instument. I wanted to learn a modern instrument too”, Lindir answered, surprised by the genuine interest in Elrond's voice. “Do you know how to play an instrument too?”

“I know my way around the cello, even though I do not have much time for practice. And how did you meet Glorfindel. He never told me your story.”

“Probably because it is a very boring tale. Glorfindel and Thranduil were searching for musicians that would be interested in being part of their band on the internet. They needed a drummer and someone who could play a keyboard. I just wrote them and told them I liked their art well enough to consider meeting up with them. Thorin's story is very similar.”

“So you met up with them because of your interest in music”, said Elrond smiling. “Tell me, how did that first meeting go?”

Lindir blushed, when he remembered that day. “It was pretty chaotic. I was a bit late, so Thranduil was already pissed off. Glorfindel had tried to get him to calm down, but you know...”

“Yes, Thranduil can be quite a handful.”

“Hey, Elrond, I heard that!”, exclaimed the ellon in the background.

“You know it's the truth”, retorted Elrond.

“In the end everything went well. They asked me if I would join and I said yes. I had never expected this little project to become so successful.”

“And nowadays this band fills the concert halls”, Elrond remarked. “That's an impressive journey.”

“It is. Did you know that I hid my ability to play the harp for some time?”

“No, I did not know. Glorfindel never told me.”

“He was the one who found out, when he visited me one day spontaneously whilst I was practising.”

Glorfindel suddenly embraced Lindir from behind. “I head my name.”

“Lindir was just telling me the tale of how you started to include his harp into your music.”

Glorfindel laughed. “He hid his talent from us.”

“I am not that good”, protested Lindir. He felt the blush creep back on his face.

“Oh, you are”, complimented Glorfindel. To Elrond he said: “He is just a bit self-conscious in that matter. That's why we started to send him out on stage first.”

“You are evil”, protested Lindir, but there was no heat behind his words. Glorfindel liked to tease him, but it had actually been Lindir's own idea to play his small harp solo at the beginning of a concert. First of all, it would set a silent atmosphere within the locations and the song, though all of them liked it, would not fit very well in their set otherwise. By now it had become kind of a tradition. Well, for those who visited their concert at least.

Lindir turned to Elrond once Glorfindel had resumed his conversation with Thorin and Thranduil.

“I don't mind. I mean, having to go out on stage first.”

“It certainly is a great way to ensure silence in the audience”, remarked Elrond.

Lindir shook his head. “Then you ignored their cheering. They always do, once one comes on stage. Even though not one single sound has been played. At first I thought this to be strange, but Thranduil ensured me it was common. This praise before anything has happened.”

“It is. The fans just love you”, Elrond said.

“Some of them far too much.” Lindir grimaced.

Elrond looked worried and Lindir blushed at the scrutiny. “Did you have problems with too pushy fans?”

“Not me, it is Glorfindel and Thranduil who get the worst of it. I mostly avoid interaction with the fans, if it is possible. There have been some unpleasant encounters on the streets however.”

\- - -

Elrond made a mental note to upgrade the security budget for the band. Their fame was constantly rising, as proven by the record sales. Also, he wanted to help Lindir. The ellon was clearly uncomfortable with the attention he got from some fans. In the past there had been two instances already where Erestor, the manager, had had to involve the police, to get rid of stalkers. It had not been Lindir, who had been the victim, but it was better to be alert.

Seeing as Elrond's label Rivendell also handled the booking, managing and security for their bands as included offer in their deals, he was reasonably proud to not have lost a single band to problems concerning these matters. Fan interaction was mostly unpleasant for the bigger names and the Kings and Minstrels were getting there. Elrond was well aware however, that he would not be able to protect Lindir outside of the touring business.

“As much as I would like to be able to shield you from those confrontations, I am afraid it comes with your profession”, Elrond said with a sad smile, hoping not to antagonize the other ellon.

“I know”, Lindir said. “Sometimes I think I take it just too much to heart.”

“You do not have to apologize for feeling how you do. Your worries are understandable. The only thing I can offer you is a seminar which could teach you some tricks in handling those encounters, if you wish.”

Lindir smiled and Elrond loved his little smile instantly. “That would be awesome. After the tour I will ask for it. Where should I go to for information?”

“I will give you my private phone number, if this is okay for you”, Elrond said. “You can call me if you need anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Setting is a modern Arda, so things differ from our world. This is my only excuse for some of the BS in this chapter. Sorry for this nonsensical fluff.


	3. Closing the distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to put in another point of view, because there weren't enough already. I just needed to put in some more Glorestor.

T he band retired early to their booked hotel. The concert had been taxing and everyone needed the one night of peace  before they would be on the road again.  It was the first time Lindir had felt like lingering longer. He had enjoyed his conversation with Elrond very much. Unfortunately they had to part outside the concert venue as it was the proper thing to do.  Lindir would not have minded to continue their talk at the hotel bar.

“He probably has to check on the twins again”, Glorfindel joked. “Even though they are grown adults now, they always get in trouble!”

“Twins?”, Lindir asked carefully.

Glorfindel smiled. “His sons, Elladan and Elrohir. Trouble they are.”

“He is married then?” Lindir hated himself for his breaking voice. It was just his luck, crushing on an unavailable man.

Glorfindel looked at Lindir's face with an unreadable expression. “Not in the eyes of the law any longer. His wife, Celebrian, she died in a horrible accident long ago. In all his years he has never shown interest in someone.” The their lead singer smiled. “You got a crush on him, Lindir!”

Lindir blushed. No chance to deny it. “A bit. He is nice. But unavailable, if I interpret your talk correctly.” He sighed. “Just my luck again.”

“Why won't you try? I think he is interested in you”, Glorfindel said.

“I won't risk my heart again. Thank you, but no.”

“Oh, come on, that's not a reason!”, argued his bandmate.

Lindir just shook his head. “I made that mistake once, I won't do it again. And you should sleep off the alcohol you drank. I can smell it on your breath.”

“Ow, Lindir! That hurt!”

“You deserve it. And please, Glorfindel. Don't bring the topic up again.”

\- - -

Glorfindel was worried. Lindir's mood had snapped quite suddenly in their conversation. He knew of course of his friend's past troubles, but this reaction? It had been uncalled for. Still, Glorfindel heeded the advice and went to his room. He was tired and the time at the bar hadn't done him good. He felt the headache oncoming. The bus-ride on the morrow would be horrible.

Unfortunately, his boyfriend Erestor had had to leave with Elrond. These two ellons worked closely together when managing the band. It was not often that Erestor could accompany them on tour. Today had been rough. They hadn't had much more than five minutes together. The weeks on tour were unpleasant at best. Otherwise they were just pure torture.

Glorfindel and Erestor had decided to keep their relationship private. The gossip magazines were vultures and none of them wanted the attention. Especially since it would be a strain on their relationship. The mags already haunted Glorfindel. No need to put Erestor into their field of view.

The lead singer pulled out his mobile phone and dialled his boyfriends number. By now the beautiful ellon should be on the flight back to the Headquarters of Rivendell, on a private plane.

Erestor thankfully picked up. “Glorfindel!”

“Hey my dark beauty”, greeted Glorfindel. He liked to make Erestor blush.

“How was the evening with the band?”

“The bars are all the same. Same alcohol, same drinks, so boring”, he complained as a way of answering.

Erestor sighed. “I hope you didn't drink too much, my dear.”

“Not too much. “ Glorfindel sighed. “I miss you beside me. Sometimes I envy Thranduil and Thorin. They have each other.”

“I miss you too”, said Erestor. “I wish I could have stayed the night.”

“Me too.”

They were quiet for a while, just listening to the other breathing.

“Is so far everything alright?”, Glorfindel asked.

“So far, yes. Of the latest concert, the articles published by the news are positive and not too much gossip in it.”

“I meant, are _you_ alright?”

“Yes my darling, I am fine. Just tired”, explained Erestor. “It has been a long day.”

“I understand. I am tired too. I just wanted to hear your voice. Sleep well, my love.”

\- - -

Elrond listened in to the conversation Erestor had with Glorfindel. They were such a sweet couple, perfect for each other. He was sad they couldn't be open about it. He had had the discussion with the manager. It was just too great a risk, even in this modern world. Not because they were two men, but because of Glorfindel's status as a celebrity.

His heart bled, when he heard the longing in Erestor's voice, so full of love.

Elrond wished for a love of his own again, for his life had been lonely in the last few years.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to include a bit of Sindarin vocabulary:  
> ellon - male elf  
> mellon - friend  
> mae govannen - greeting/good to meet you
> 
> I wanted to write an OS, but obvs I am unable to do so.
> 
> Also, I wrote this not in the best state of mind. All faults are mine.  
> Kudos are highly appreciated.


End file.
